California RN to BSN Programs & Schools

To become a registered nurse in California, you have many options. You can attend a two-year RN program or you can choose to obtain a Bachelor of Science in Nursing, a four-year degree program. Options also include RN to BSN programs in California. More than 50 schools offer you the opportunity to become an RN in California.

When you are a licensed registered nurse already, you may choose to a degree that will let you move from being an RN to BSN. California has this as a degree option, which may be the better choice. As an RN, you’ve probably realized that you’ve advanced as far as you will be able to in your current career path. To further your career, obtain an administrative position or choose from other nursing career paths, the acquisition of a BSN is required. Many four-year colleges offer RN to BSN programs in California, some of them even offer online classes.

To gain admittance into RN programs or RN to BSN schools in California, you must have a high school diploma or GED certificate. For admittance into BSN nursing programs in California, you must have completed a two-year ASN degree or its equivalent and be licensed as an RN or eligible to sit for licensing. For nurses trying to find advanced nursing schools in California, BSN programs are a great way to further your career and are readily available.

Many RN to BSN programs in California can fast track your studies and offer you a degree after you complete only 19 months of schooling, when you are already licensed as an RN. This offers you the opportunity to choose from a variety of positions or interests that include home care nursing, community health, gerontology, medical-surgical nursing, pediatrics or assisted living nursing.

To become a registered nurse in California after obtaining the appropriate schooling, you will be prepared to take the licensing test to become an RN in California. After applying through the California Board of Registered Nurses online, you will be charged a fee and then provided a time and place where you will take the test. After successfully passing the test, you must also pass a background check in California to become a nurse. This part of the process requires your fingerprints and a waiting period. Once the background check through the FBI completes successfully, you will be issued your license.

When you receive your first RN license in California, it is valid through two of your birthdays and requires renewal before the last day of the month following your birth date. After renewal, the license will expire every two years and requires 30 hours of continuing education and fees for renewal. If you allow your license to lapse, the fees are close to double for renewal.

When you don’t have an RN, some of the coursework required includes up to 85 credits to receive your ASN degree so that you can sit for the RN exam. This includes general education coursework, electives and nursing coursework. BSN nursing programs in California offer you a four-year degree that affords many more opportunities than a two-year RN or ASN degree. If you are looking to advance past the RN job title, attending one of the many BSN schools in California may be worth considering.

After receiving an RN to BSN California degree, you’ll have the opportunity to work for hospitals, medical clinics, private nursing homes, traveling nurses programs, and as a nurse for doctors with private practices or specialty clinics. As a graduate of a program to move from a position as an RN to BSN, California hospitals and clinics provide the opportunity to take on administrative jobs where you supervise the work of other nurses in hospitals or clinics.

BSN nursing programs in California also allow you to further your career if this is your choice. Obtaining a BSN upon the completion of one of many BSN schools in California is the foundation for a graduate degree in nursing that can advance your career and allow you to become a nurse midwife, a nurse anesthetist, a clinical nurse specialist and more.

Becoming a nurse requires a special kind of person. Having compassion and a desire to help others is a good place to start. Nurses require patience, high attention to detail, good health, the ability to work long hours – often 12 hour shifts at a time – and have the ability to respond in an emergency. Nurses must also have even temperaments because not every patient behaves ideally. Nurses must have the ability to be flexible and go with the flow, as anything can happen. You need to be quick on your feet and maintain a level head during emergencies. These skills and many more are taught at nursing schools in California. BSN programs can help prepare you for a great many of the trials you will face as a nurse.

While nursing is a rewarding career, it also takes a lot of work, commitment and study. But with the many RN to BSN programs in California, you have many places to begin the study for your nursing career. For more information on nursing in California or other resources, please review any one of the following links: